Farm to School
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems partners with many North Carolina partners to serve in strengthening farm to school work in NC, and is dedicated to supporting future food system leaders and promoting racial equity in local food systems and schools.
Within CEFS’ mission is to build a healthier food system across North Carolina, and we believe that community-driven efforts are the heart of improving the health and wellness for children and communities. We also believe that structural efforts and policy support can aid communities in making their programs work to the benefit of all those they serve. We aim to contribute to the multitude of efforts, large and small, across NC to make all schools places that nurture healthy food cultures.
Farm to School in NC
Beginning in 1997, North Carolina was one of the first states to incorporate a statewide farm to school initiative that sources NC-grown produce for school meals. Today, the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Farm to School Program reaches over 1 million children across the entire state, serving over a million pounds of locally-grown produce each year.
North Carolina also has a Farm to School Coalition of NC (F2SCNC), which brings together a dedicated group of farm to school (F2S) stakeholders that collaborate to expand and strengthen farm to school initiatives across the state. CEFS is a founding member and an active member of the Steering Committee in the Farm to School Coalition of NC.
Despite this, there are many challenges to overcome. One in five children in North Carolina are designated as food insecure before COVID-19. Racial inequity and poverty plague our state and country and are root causes of child hunger and food insecurity. We recognize that in order for children to be healthy and well-fed, communities must be engaged to address issues of education and access. Our partners in Farm to School—the Department of Instruction, the NC Department of Agriculture, the department of Health, Cooperative Extension and its county offices, non-profit organizations, School Nutrition services, farmers, parents, and many others—work collectively to build on the local knowledge of folks already on the ground doing change-making work.
What is Farm to School?
Farm to school connects local agriculture, schools, and partners to benefit students, educators, farmers, families, and communities.These programs support local food procurement, school gardens and nutrition education. School nutrition professionals, teachers, administrators, school nurses, school health coordinators, local farmers, students, families, policymakers, and community organizations each have an important role in building capacity for and establishing a sustainable farm to school program.
Farm to School Programming Examples:
- School nutrition professionals and farmers can work together to increase the procurement of local food for school meals and snacks, as well as to help to tell the story of local food systems.
- Teachers and school nutrition professionals can teach and promote farm to school to students and their families to increase the consumption of healthy foods.
- Students, families, and community organizations can advocate for farm to school programming in their local school districts.
- School administrators and policymakers can establish policies and practices in support of farm to school.
Partner Contacts
- Farm to School Coalition of NC: Tracey Bates Tracey.Bates@dpi.nc.gov, Drea Blackburn kblackb@ncsu.edu
- Cooperative Extension Local Food Farm to School Working Team: Morgan King mhking3@ncsu.edu, Remi Ham raham@ncsu.edu
Resources
CEFS Farm to School News
Extension to Grow School Gardens through the Launch of New Online Course
Bringing together the best of NC Cooperative Extension’s areas of expertise: agriculture, food, and youth development, the Farm to School team is developing a new series of online courses that build North Carolina’s capacity to deliver programming in school gardens, local food procurement, and nutrition education.
North Carolina Students Advocate for Student Wellness
As a part of Farm to School Coalition of North Carolina's "Student Wellness Project", three North Carolina students created the Teens Talk Wellness podcast earlier this year. The students created the podcast as an outlet to explore student wellness from a Farm to School perspective, highlighting issues surrounding nutrition, food justice and inclusivity, funding, and much more!
Teens Talk Wellness Podcast
Follow the journey of three student anchors as they explore student wellness through the lens of farm to school, equity, outdoor education, School Nutrition, and so much more.